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Martial Arts Styles
Coleopteran Styles 4-Fold Path to Victory Style cost: 5 points A common coleopteran military style, the 4-Fold path involves co-ordinating a crossbow, halberd, short sword, and shield in a bewildering array of tactical options. Stylists normally carry a slingable crossbow in their upper hands, an unready halberd in a lower arm, and a medium buckler in the other. They engage at range with crossbow shots, moving as they reload and counting on their shield and armor to ward off the ranged attacks of their foes. As they close to melee range, they release the crossbow to its sling and draw their swords. In melee, a common opening maneuver is a cross-check with the halberd, followed by cutting at the arms. The halberd is used to cut at distant opponents or confuse or stab nearby ones. Coleopteran martial lore includes myths of warriors that can shatter stones with a halberd blow or jump enormous distances, skewering their enemies to the length of their halberds. Legendary heroes can also stand firm no matter the circumstances. Common stylistic variations include substituting a bow or sling for the crossbow, or replacing the polearm with a kusari or other heavy whip. :Skills: Buckler, Crossbow, Polearm, Shortsword. :Techniques: Feint (Polearm), Targeted Attacks (Sword Swing/Arms). :Cinematic Skills: Immovable Stance, Power Blow. :Cinematic Techniques: Flying Lunge (Polearm). :Style Perks: Reach Master (Polearm), Grip Master (Polearm), Pushes and Shoves (Polearm), Shield Wall Training. :Optional Skills: Fast-Draw (Sword). Mystic Knight styles Les choses que j'allais faire de toute façon Style cost: 8 points This style for Mystic Knights focuses on projecting energy from a blade. It's signature attack is the Swing of 1000 Blades, an exhausting but devastating attack in which the stylist projects his blade to a distance point while duplicating the blade multiple times and causing one of projected blades to explode. Done correctly, it is draining to the stylist and devastating to the target. Stylists also learn to throw all manner of items as secondary projectiles, and to swiftly draw and resheathe their blades to facilitate doing so. :Skills: Broadsword, Fast-Draw (Sword), Shield, Throwing, Project Blow (Broadsword), Multishot (Broadsword), Scattershot (Broadsword) :Techniques: Feint (Broadsword), Reverse Weapon (Broadsword). :Cinematic Skills: None. :Cinematic Techniques: None. :Style Perks: Quick-Sheathe (Sword) Mountain Minotaur styles Vores Kæmper Måde Style cost: 5 points. Lit. "Our grappling way". A "brute" style that aims to leverage the Minotaurs size, strength, and natural weaponry. The training is aimed primarily at tackling other large foes - you don't train to wrestle with little guys, you just squash them. This is a highly aggressive style, and it makes heavy use of Attacks and Committed Attacks. Once an advantage is gained, the stylist continues pressing it to prevent his foe from having time to feint and launch a counter-offensive with an advantage. Frequently one side or the other or both berserks, and then the fight degenerates into a bloody mess. Mountain Minotaur wrestlers Move and Attack to horn-slam or body-slam into close combat. If the foe is knocked out of close combat by the slam, either set to receive his counter-charge or repeat! If the foe is still in close combat, but seems on the defensive, try shoving him back to give yourself room to slam him again. If the foe is still in close combat, and on the attack, attempt to Bind or grapple his horns to remove this threat, then counter-grapple and start twisting or choking. MMW wrestlers often go for a grab on the neck, head, or horns to immobilize the foes horns without restricting their own, allowing them to stab freely. The perfect setup is getting on your foes back, so you can apply your own horns without risking his, and allowing you to use your arms purely to restrict his and to maintain your superior position. There is some tiny training in ground fighting (preferred position is on the back, face up, to keep the horns in play - mount on a face-up foe is just asking to get horned in the guts) but most MMW will prefer grappling upright as being on your feet allows charges. Goal #1 if knocked over is to get back up again before the other guy kicks you or drops on you. Against a charging foe, a MMW on the defensive will often choose to meet him head-on, literally! The "receiving" wrestler will usually attempt to take the slam on the horns (mechanically, Parrying the slam with strikers and turning the parry into a Riposte) and then try to Bind his foes horns (instead of the Parry attack?) and go for the grapple. Some particularly wise (and self-controlled) wrestlers Wait until the charging foe gets within reach and then Shove him to spoil his charge and get you some room for a counter-charge, or head-butt him in the skull hoping to stun or knock him out before the charge lands. :Skills: Wrestling; Sumo Wrestling; Brawling; Intimidation. :Techniques: Bind Weapon (Brawling; only with Horns Vs. Horns); Choke Hold; Elbow Drop; Elbow Strike; Head Lock; Knee Strike; Neck Snap; Stamp Kick; TA (Brawling Horns/Face); TA (Brawling Horns/Skull); TA (Wrestling Grab/Face); TA (Wrestling Grab/Horns); TA (Wrestling Grab/Skull); Wrench (Limb; including Horns); Wrench Spine. :Cinematic Skills: Immovable Stance; Power Blow; Push. :Cinematic Techniques: Backbreaker; Flying Lunge (Brawling; horns or head-butt only); Piledriver. :Style Perks: Iron Head (DR +1 with Partial: Skull and Tough Skin); Neck Control (Brawling); Power Grappling; Special Exercises (Lifting ST +1); Special Exercises (DR +1 with Tough Skin); Technique Adaptation (Bind to Brawling; only for use horns vs. horns) Trold Eddersmart Style cost: 4 points. Lit. "Monster smashing". Where Vores Kæmper Måde wrestlers train for minotaur-to-minotaur contests, Trold Eddersmart fighters expect to apply their skills to non-minotaurs - ogres, goblins, monsters, humans... whoever presents themselves as a target, really. Trold Eddersmart fighters, or Smadrers, firmly believe that a strong offense is the best defense. Obviously, then, carrying two weapons is better than carying one! A morning star is used in the main hand for its natural properties in wrapping around defenses to crush the victim, while a sturdy axe is carried in the off hand to parry with, and to menace your foe with so he is destracted and doesn't notice the incoming flail. The philosophy of attack to protect yourself leads fighters to aim for stunning or disabling blows - and since non-minotaurs have such fragile skulls (and are usually short) the flail is often used to rain down punishing blows to the top of the head. When going "all out" with dual attacks, the axe is used to slash at limbs to penalize the victims mobility, or if facing pole arms, to cut at the weapon shaft and create a safe space for the Smadrer to attack from. If facing a single foe the axe may also be used to keep him off balance, either through feints or through literally dragging him out of his stance, or more directly by hailing dual attacks down on him. Smadrers train to deliver a storm of blows in all directions, and the general philosophy is that being surrounded by your enemies isn't disadvantageous, it's just a target-rich environment. True masters of the form take this to an extreme and become a literal whirlwind of smashing death. Attacks, Committed Attacks, and constant forward mothion are the order of the day for a Smadrer, but if overwhelmed ground may be given while executing Defensive Attacks until the situation stabilizes. If a Smadrer isn't attacking at all, it's probably because he's still getting to the fight. :Skills: Axe/Mace; Flail; Thrown Weapon (Axes). :Techniques: Armed Interdiction (where allowed); Back Strike (Flail); Close Combat (Axe/Mace); Counterattack (Flail); Feint (Axe); Hook (Axe/Mace); Return Strike (Flail); Side Strike (Axe); Side Strike (Flail); TA (Axe/Mace Swing/Neck); TA (Axe/Mace Swing/Leg); TA (Flail Swing/Skull). :Cinematic Skills: Kiai; Power Blow. :Cinematic Techniques: Dual Weapon Attack (Axe/Mace); Dual Weapon Attack (Flail); Whirlwind Attack (Flail). :Style Perks: Akimbo (Axe/Mace); Akimbo (Flail); Dual-Ready (Axe and Morning Star); Focused Fury; Off-hand Weapon Training (Axe/Mace); Off-hand Weapon Training (Flail); Weapon Adaptation (Axe/Mace to Flail). Pixie Styles Way of Uphill Battle Style Cost: 3 points This martial arts style was developed by Pixie experts in barehanded combat for use against larger foes. Traditionally a Pixie will make use of his small size, flight, and speed advantages to keep his target off-balance with feints (both offensive and defensive), then wait for an opening and strike a vulnerable target like the face or groin. This is entirely an unarmed art, as Pixie weapons are very rarely effective against human-sized targets. It is also very striking focused, as pixies are too small to grapple effectively. Cinematic masters channel their chi to even the playing field with feats of strength that would be impressive even for humans, to stand firm even when struck by the mighty blows of ogres, to throw pixie-sized shuriken at truly fantastic speeds, and to perfect their control over both body and mind. :Skills: Aerobatics; Karate. :Techniques: Counterattack; Feint; Targeted Attack (Karate Punch/Face); Targeted Attack (Karate Punch/Groin). :Cinematic Skills: Breath Control; Body Control; Mental Strength; Immovable Stance; Power Blow; Pressure Points; Throwing Art. :Cinematic Techniques: None. :Style Perks: Clinch; Special Exercises (Striking ST +1, or two levels for +2); Technique Mastery (Feint). Category:Saga of Westmarch